Magus of Sounis
}}The 'magus '''is a scholar and advisor to the king of Sounis. His name is never revealed in the books, and he is only referred to by his title. Physical Appearance The magus is an old man with mostly gray, formerly dark hair and light gray eyes. He has a high-bridged nose and wrinkled skin. Story Early Life The magus spent his early years on his family's farm in Sounis, near the mountains at the border with Eddis. After his entire family died in the plague, he left the farm to get an education in the city. When he found that he was unable to support himself as a scholar, he also became a soldier before eventually ascending to the role of magus. The Thief Due to the threat of invasion from the Medes, the magus hoped to unite the three countries of Sounis, Eddis, and Attolia under a single rule. To that end, he began searching for Hamiathes's Gift, believing that it would force the queen of Eddis to accept an offer of marriage from the king of Sounis. Using records from the time before the Invasion, the magus was able to determine the location of the Gift. He then destroyed the records so that no one else would be able to find it. Gen came to the magus's attention after stealing the king's seal and bragging to one of the magus's agents in a wineshop. The magus attended Gen's trial and, several months later, offered to free him from prison if he agreed to steal Hamiathes's Gift for him. Gen agreed, and the two then set out for Attolia, along with Pol, Sophos, and Ambiades. In Attolia, Gen was able to successfully steal the Gift and then briefly turned it over to the magus's possession. Soon after, however, Gen stole the Gift back as the group was being attacked by Attolian soldiers, leading the magus to believe that it had been lost during the fighting. Near the Eddisian border, the group once again found itself under attack by Attolian soldiers. Gen then separated from the rest of the group, stating that he would attempt to slow down the Attolians as the others went on. The magus was initially angry and disbelieved him, but realized that he had misjudged Gen after witnessing him become gravely injured while fighting the soldiers. Afterward, while they were imprisoned by the Attolians, the magus tried to help Gen by suggesting to the queen of Attolia that his skills as a thief could be an asset to her. The queen then asked Gen to stay in Attolia as her Thief. Gen refused the offer to work for Attolia, instead helping the magus and Sophos escape. The three then made their way to Eddis, at which point the magus realized the truth about Gen's identity. After reaching the capital city, the magus and Sophos both remained in Eddis for some time while the queen negotiated concessions from Sounis in exchange for their safe return. The Queen of Attolia After war broke out between Eddis and Attolia, Eddis hoped that Sounis would ally with her to overthrow Attolia. The magus, however, advised the king of Sounis that Attolia would treat with the Mede Empire if both Sounis and Eddis attacked her, and that the Mede would then overrun the entire Little Peninsula. In the winter, he traveled to the Eddisian capital to visit Eugenides, and subsequently reported to the king of Sounis that Eugenides was no longer a threat. He then recommended that Sounis join Attolia and invade Eddis. In the spring, before Sounis officially entered the war, Eugenides sabotaged the Sounisian navy and framed the magus for the destruction, leading the king to believe that the magus had been secretly working for Attolia the entire time. Eugenides then brought the magus to a hunting lodge in the coastal mountains of Eddis, where he was technically considered a prisoner, though he was given a great deal of freedom. During his stay there, he frequently hiked out into the surrounding area to collect botanical samples. After Eddis ended her brief alliance with Sounis, she brought the magus back to the capital with her, where he stayed for the remainder of the war. Although he was still formally considered a prisoner, he continued to be allowed a great deal of freedom. The King of Attolia Due to the civil war and political chaos in Sounis, the magus chose to stay in Eddis until the king formally negotiated his release. Although he was still nominally considered a prisoner, he was treated as a guest by Eddis, and on at least one occasion made an unsupervised trip to the hinterland to collect folktales from relatively isolated communities. After hearing about Sophos's disappearance in Sounis, the magus refused to give up hope that he would be found alive. Position in the Sounisian Court The Magus is a scholar and advisor to the king. His advice is taken into account, albeit grudgingly, on most matters of state. He is also the tutor of the king's heir, Sophos, though the Magus is replaced after ''The Thief as the king grows increasingly fearful of the Magus's power and influence. Sophos is assigned different tutors and sent away to Letnos while the Magus is assigned incompetent apprentices in order to minimize his power.Category:People Category:Sounis Category:Characters Category:Csgo